How Far Would You Travel to Visit Your Dentist?

Getting good dental care is important to a lot of people. But finding a good dentist or specialist can be a challenge. This is why most folks don’t think twice about travelling a long way just to keep their dentist appointments.
But just exactly how far would you travel to keep your pearly-whites healthy? If you’re wondering whether the distance you travel is extensive or just right, then finding out about how far other people travel will be helpful.
In a survey done by The Wealthy Dentist, an online resource for dental practitioners, it showed that on an average, patients come from as far as 5-10 miles. This distance may not seem much, but if one factors-in traffic and public transportation schedules, the travel time becomes a lot longer.
Travelling to see a dentist in urban areas though is a lot simpler than in a rural setting. In places where people live far away from the town or nearest dentist, travelling 30 miles or even farther is actually pretty normal. When there’s no other choice but to travel that far to see a dentist, driving for an hour or so to keep your appointment becomes a necessity.
Surprisingly though, more dentists with practices in urban areas are more likely to have patients who travel 10 miles or more for an appointment. The Wealthy Dentist’s survey also showed that some dentists have patients who are from out of state and, sometimes, even from out of the country. This may be because patients prefer to have their dental procedures done by a dentist they are familiar with. Here are some other reasons why people don’t find distance as a problem:
• If a patient’s dental needs require a specialist such as an orthodontist, there might not be any other competent practitioners in areas closer to them. So, despite the distance, a patient will travel for implants, braces or any other special need. There is a dentist near Orpington for example where patients attend from all around London.
• The patient’s insurance coverage might not have any dental practitioners closer to his or her home or place of work. When this happens, the patient will not have any other choice but to travel to the dentist that’s covered by his or her dental plan.
• Dentist appointments can be an extremely stressful experience for some people. This is why most patients find it difficult to change dentists when they move away. The added stress of an unfamiliar dental practitioner can be too much for some patients. As a result, they opt to travel rather than change dentists.
If you’re thinking about how far away your dentist should be from your location, the answer is actually quite simple. For most people, distance is not a factor as long as they can get efficient dental care and their teeth are taken care of properly. Just as the song goes, ‘there ‘ain’t no mountain high enough; there ‘ain’t no river wide enough to keep me from getting to you.’
So the next time you find yourself worrying about the distance you need to travel to keep your appointment, just smile. Remember, that what you get for all your trouble is that beautiful smile you just flashed.